About the Book:
Twelve resolutions. Once chance to fall in love.
Hannah and Celeste have been best friends since they were eighteen, when they made a pact to spend every New Year's Eve together. From Dublin to London, the two are inseparable: that is, until tragedy strikes.
When Celeste discovers a list of Hannah's New Year's Resolutions, she is determined to complete them. Little does she know that doing so will reunite her with someone from her past . . .
Through Hannah's last wishes Celeste begins to fall in love with life again, one adventure at a time.
But could the biggest adventure of all be falling in love again?
Published by Penguin
Released November 2022
My Thoughts:
This was such an utter delight! It's always so nice to discover a new author, even better when they have a few releases that you can dig into. Think Paige Toon and Josie Silver, two of my favourites when it comes to contemporary romance/feel good fiction, and you'll have an impression on Emily Bell's work, but with a touch of Ireland thrown in.
After losing her decades long best friend, Celeste discovers the last list of New Year's Resolutions in her friend's most recent notebook. There are twelve, so she decides to do one each month for the new year, as a way of paying homage to her friend as well as working through her grief. The resolutions are basically a list of twelve new things to try, some of which Celeste does on her own, others she does with her friends, renewing her bond with these other people who have always been a part of her friend group, but sat more on the periphery of her friendship with Hannah.
Billed as a romance, the novel is more about resetting your life and building solid connections with friends. Celeste turns thirty-seven throughout the year of her resolutions, she's got an established career, owns property, and has her ducks in a row, so to speak. But she's stuck, been doing the same thing for years, and through Hannah's resolutions, she discovers a whole host of things about herself that she had either forgotten or didn't even know about. Towards the end of the novel, there is a romantic turn, but I really enjoyed how the romance was not the primary focus of the story. It was more complimentary, the dollop of cream beside an already delicious cake.
This was a really lovely read, and I am looking forward to reading more from Emily Bell. Highly recommended.
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